Tokyo Police Club – Bambi

I discovered Tokyo Police Club in the wake of The Strokes’ First Impressions of Earth. Yearning for more Strokes material, TCP were a breath of fresh air – I’m a very harsh critic when it comes to indie-rock because, well, nothing compares to The Strokes. But, TCP’s debut EP, A Lesson In Crime was so refreshing that I couldn’t help but fall in love. It’s didn’t hurt that the opening song “Cheer It On” sounded like a pumped up Strokes song either.

The two year gap between A Lesson In Crime and their first LP, Elephant Shell, was sprinkled with the Smith EP, which more or less just sounded like extras off A Lesson In Crime. With Elephant Shell, I was hoping for the raw grandeur that originally made me like TCP, but it unfortunately was lacking. From here, I lost interest. Because of this, TCP’s latest LP, Champ, slipped right under my radar.

A friend of mine came over to grab some music off my computer and he asked if I had given Champ as listen. I had not. So he played “Bambi” for me and I was instantaneously taken back to that moment when I first heard the opening chords of “Cheer It On.” The energy was there. The guitar plucks and chords are arranged in such a way that you kind of trip out listening. It sounded new, yet it had that spaced out production that gave A Lesson In Crime it’s cohesive sound. It’s was like falling in love all over again. “Bambi” is undoubtedly going to go down as one of my favorite songs of 2010.